AI-assisted summary
• A family has filed a lawsuit against an Aramark employee for allegedly attempting to sexually assault their 8-year-old son at an NFL game.
• The lawsuit claims Aramark and stadium management company ASM Global were negligent and failed to provide a safe environment.
• The accused employee, Ushay Nixon, faces criminal charges and had a prior criminal history including sexual misconduct allegations.
• The boy’s parents state the incident has caused him significant emotional distress, including night terrors and withdrawal from his hobbies.

It should have been a triumphant NFL Sunday afternoon.

A mother and father brought their two young sons to watch the Houston Texans play the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium on Dec. 14. It was the family’s first NFL game, which they attended with a group of friends from their Houston area youth football league.

Their oldest son, an outgoing 8-year-old who lives and breathes football, was especially excited. He loves the Kansas City Chiefs and hopes to play college football someday.

But his parents say their son’s gameday experience was corrupted when an Aramark employee allegedly pulled down the boy’s pants and attempted to sexually assault him in a stadium bathroom, according to a civil lawsuit the family filed Jan. 12 in Harris County, Texas.

“He’s been having some night terrors since then and asking questions like, “Why did God let this happen to me?’” the boy’s mother told USA TODAY.

The accused former Aramark employee, Ushay Nixon, is named as a defendant in the suit and is also facing criminal charges related to the incident. Other defendants are Aramark and ASM Global (now known as Legends Global), the company that manages NRG Park where the Texans’ stadium is located.

The suit claims that Aramark was negligent in hiring Nixon, who court records show had a criminal history of sexual misconduct, and argues that both Aramark and ASM Global failed their duty to provide a safe environment at NRG Stadium.

The lawsuit does not name the boy or his parents. To protect the identity of a victim of alleged sexual assault, USA TODAY is referring to them using only their initials used in the civil lawsuit.

“There’s a lot of people here that need to look within and that are ultimately responsible for this,” the boy’s father, JS, told USA TODAY. “He’s a very, very strong kid. I said, ‘We are going to make sure that we tell this story so that it doesn’t happen to any other kids and you’re going to be the hero that they didn’t even know about, because we’re going to put a stop to this.’”

It ‘just didn’t look right’

According to the lawsuit, Nixon was working at NRG Stadium during the Texans-Cardinals game. In the third quarter of the game, the boy’s mother, identified in the suit as ES, took her son (identified as JRS in the lawsuit) to use a men’s bathroom and waited outside.

JRS, a third grader, came out of the bathroom adjusting his pants. As they returned to their seats, a man approached the boy’s mother and said he saw an employee with her son inside the restroom and that it, “just didn’t look right,” the lawsuit said.

ES questioned JRS and he told her that a man pulled down his pants in the restroom. The boy’s father took JRS back to the bathroom and asked him to identify the man. JRS pointed at Nixon, who hid inside a storage closet and was eventually apprehended by police officers.

In a forensic interview with the Houston Police Department on Dec. 19, JRS said a man instructed him to go with him into a bathroom stall. The boy complied because he identified the man, who wore a purple shirt, as an employee. Inside the locked stall, the man pulled down the boy’s pants and underwear. After the man dropped his own pants, the boy ran out of the stall.

Court documents state that police reviewed surveillance video that showed Nixon, wearing a purple polo shirt, entering and leaving the restroom around the time of the reported incident.

Nixon later told police that he’d asked the boy if he wanted to see Nixon’s Pokémon card collection and that the boy got scared and ran away, according to court documents.

The defendants have not yet filed responses to the family’s complaint with the court.

Nixon, 21, remains in the Harris County jail awaiting a scheduled court hearing on Feb. 5. He is charged with one felony count of indecency with a child and one felony count of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child. His attorney declined to comment for this story.

Aramark did not answer questions from USA TODAY about its hiring process or background check procedure but said in a statement that Nixon is no longer an employee.

“We are aware of this very disturbing situation. The person in question is no longer employed with our organization, and we are fully cooperating with the authorities on their investigation,” Aramark’s statement said.

A spokesperson for Legends Global said the company does not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for NRG Park, which is not a defendant in the suit, said, “NRG Park is aware of the lawsuit that has been filed. Because this matter involves an active criminal case and pending litigation, we are unable to comment on the allegations or specifics of the case. The safety and security of all guests is of the utmost importance to NRG Park. We work closely with law enforcement and our contracted partners to maintain a secure environment at all events.”

Lasting mental wounds

Although a hospital examination revealed no physical injuries to their son, ES and JS are concerned about the institutional failures that put him in harm’s way.

Harris County court records show that in 2022, Nixon was charged with indecency with a child and indecent assault in two separate instances. The charges were later dismissed.

The lawsuit argues that Aramark either failed to properly vet Nixon prior to hiring him, or knowingly disregarded the results of his background check. ES and JS want to know why Nixon was allowed to work near children, and they want Aramark and other companies to scrutinize their hiring and staffing policies.

“Regardless of the size of the event or who attends, people should be able to go out with their families and not have to worry about the absolute worst happening to them while they’re attending a sports event or racing event or the rodeo,” JS said. “It definitely takes the excitement away and just bring anxiety, honestly, enough to where you don’t really want to (go).”

ES and JS describe their oldest son as extremely extroverted with a “Golden Retriever” personality, a kid who makes friends with anyone and loves to be active. When he’s not on the football field, where his best positions are corner and receiver, he’s playing football video games or watching his favorite player, “Patty,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Since the incident at NRG Stadium, however, his confidence is shaken and he’s become withdrawn. His parents say he hasn’t shown much interest in his hobbies or being around family and friends.

“He loves everyone and everything. He’s got the biggest heart,” JS said. “I hope it doesn’t take that away from him, because, I mean, his light is bright.”

JS said he hopes his family can reach the point where they feel comfortable attending a football game together again. He wants to teach his kids that they shouldn’t let others control their lives. But JS and ES worry about the lasting impact this will have on their oldest son, who is at the age where he was just starting to embrace his independence.

“How is he going to feel in the future trusting employees in places?” ES said. “It just unfortunately really starts to take away trust of adults and people that you believe you should be able to trust. And now it’s kind of shattered.”

ES and JS urge parents to have difficult conversations with their children to protect them.

While they wait for the lawsuit to move forward, the family is attempting to live life as normal, but they know some things will never be the same. JRS recently talked to his 6-year-old brother and warned him about what to do if he encounters a similar situation.

And as Christmas approached, the 8-year-old boy asked his parents for a specific gift.

“Instead of a PS5, he was saying, ‘I just wish Santa could give me an eraser to take it out of my head,’” ES said.

Lindsey Vonn found a unique way to thank all the medical professionals who got her to the Milano Cortina Olympics.

She’s shining her considerable spotlight on them.

Vonn has partnered with FIGS, apparel maker for health-care workers, on an ad campaign that celebrates the medical team that participated in her partial knee replacement and recovery from it. And, by extension, the entire medical profession.

The campaign, with a tagline of ‘It takes heart to build bodies that break records,’ launches Monday, Jan. 26, on NBC and its platforms and will run through the end of the Olympics. The Milano Cortina Games are Feb. 6-22.

‘This comeback, I wouldn’t be doing this at all if it hadn’t been for the medical team that believed in me and that supported me and basically held my hand through everything,” Vonn told USA TODAY Sports.

‘I feel privileged to be able to have worked with such extraordinary people, and I want to recognize their effort,’ Vonn said. ‘And not just their effort, but all of the medical staff that’s helped Team USA and all medical staffs in general. They just are under recognized.’

Vonn would certainly know.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion has had multiple serious injuries throughout her career, with her right knee suffering the most damage. She retired in 2019 not because she was done with ski racing, but because the pain had made it impossible to continue.

‘This is me, Lindsey Vonn, downhill skiing champion,’ Vonn says in one clip for the campaign, as images of her skiing and being on the podium are replaced by various X-rays, ‘with a body broken beyond repair.’

In April 2024, however, Vonn had a partial titanium knee replacement. Within days she was able to bend and straighten her knee, something she hadn’t been able to do in years. As her recovery progressed, Vonn decided to see if she could race again.

She was back on the World Cup circuit in December 2024, and finished last season with a silver medal in the super-G at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. With a full offseason to train and fine-tune her equipment, she has dominated the speed races this season, making the podium in all five downhills and two of the first three super-Gs.

‘When I did the surgery, it was literally just to live a pain-free life,’ Vonn said, ‘and it was way more than I bargained for. Which I’m very happy about.’

But it took that entire medical team.

In both shorter clips and a 1-minute film for the campaign, Vonn puts the attention squarely on those people who put her back together.

There is Tom Hackett, the orthopedic surgeon who’s done most of Vonn’s previous surgeries and who did another before the partial knee replacement so she could have that procedure. Lorenzo Gonzalez, a physical therapist and acupuncturist, who got her body back in alignment because it was completely out of whack from all the compensating she’d been doing for her knee.

There were the nurses who were at all her surgeries, pre-op and post-op appointments, and helped with her recovery. Gonzalez again after surgery to make sure her body stayed in alignment. There’s ‘another Lindsey, my physio, my friend,’ and everyone everyone else who assisted during her rehab.

‘I want people to be able to hopefully find solutions that allow them to be in the similar position that I’m in, where they are pain-free. But it wouldn’t happen without the medical team,’ Vonn said.

‘All these people that helped me, it wouldn’t be possible without them,’ Vonn said. ‘And I really got involved mainly because I just want to recognize that.”

FIGS is a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee sponsor, and will provide apparel for Team USA’s medical staff in Milano Cortina. The company also wanted to do an ad campaign around the Winter Games, and was thrilled when Vonn said she was interested.

She is, of course, one of the biggest stars of the Milano Cortina Games, and her comeback is a source of fascination. Vonn is the first elite skier to return to the sport after an artificial knee replacement, partial or otherwise.

During her surgery, orthopedic surgeon Martin Roche used a robotic arm to remove the damaged bone and cartilage on the outside of Vonn’s right knee and replaced it with titanium. She kept her ACL and meniscus, allowing her to maintain the ‘feel’ she had in her knee before.

‘(Vonn) is just such a testament to believing in yourself and getting the right people around you to create history and break records, which is what this campaign’s all about,’ said Trina Spear, CEO and co-founder of FIGS.

‘Her team of healthcare professionals believed that they could put her back together and fix her so she could go out and win medals, which she’s doing again.’

Vonn will be favored to win medals in all three of her races at the Olympics, the downhill, super-G and team combined, and several of the medical professionals featured in the campaign will be in Cortina to watch.

Vonn tells them often how much she appreciates them and what they did for her. Now she’s telling the world.

‘It is about that story of collaboration between Lindsey and her team of surgeons and physical therapists and athletic trainers and mental health professionals and how they’re working together to defy the odds and do the impossible,’ Spear said. ‘But our goal is to put them on a podium of their own.

‘We’re really proud to tell that story and they deserve it,’ Spear added. ‘They deserve it just as much as Lindsey deserves her, hopefully, gold medal during the Olympic Games.’

SEATTLE — The 2026 NFL offseason arrived sooner than the Los Angeles Rams had hoped. So, too, might another round of offseason drama.

Just minutes after they’d left the playing surface at Lumen Field, their second excruciating defeat there to the Seattle Seahawks – setbacks that ultimately defined a season that might have been so much more for L.A. – the question was already surfacing: Will quarterback Matthew Stafford, the league’s presumptive MVP for the 2025 season, be back in 2026?

‘I can’t generalize six months of my life 10 minutes after a loss,’ said Stafford, who passed for 374 yards – perhaps the majority of them on simply brilliant throws – and three touchdowns in the Rams’ 31-27 loss in the NFC championship game.

It was his latest – and last – performance of the best season, from an individual perspective, of his 17-year NFL career.

‘Appreciate the guys in this locker room a whole hell of a lot, everybody that helped me and helped our team be as successful as we were this year,’ Stafford continued. ‘And that’s all I’ll answer for you.’

A simple yes would have quashed 10 minutes and, maybe, at least a few months – if not six – of what could be wild speculation about his future. But Stafford wasn’t willing to give one.

You’ll recall we’re only 11 months removed from the Rams adjusting his contract to keep him in-house in 2025 – after rampant rumors regarding his status as teams like the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers tried to get their hands on him. Could a similar scenario play out again? Might 10 teams line up in an attempt to recruit him in 2026? Maybe more?

If Stafford, who will turn 38 next month, isn’t the league’s best quarterback, period, he was certainly its best one in 2025. He’s owed $40 million in 2026, the final year of his contract. Fifteen peers – insomuch as they share his position – of Stafford’s are scheduled to average more income in 2026, a list of passers that includes Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson and Kirk Cousins, among others. All are younger (even Cousins) than Stafford, none are nearly as accomplished – and that was prior to the spectacular season he just completed.

“If he still wants to play – what the hell kind of a question is that?” said McVay. “You have to ask him. We’ve been totally present. I know that if he wants to, he’s still playing at a pretty damn good clip. He’s the MVP of the league, and if he’s not – I’ve got respect for everybody else – but this guy played at a level that’s just different.”

The Rams would certainly look almost unrecognizably different without Stafford but have more than $45 in salary cap room, per Over The Cap, to sweeten his deal and maybe even add to his supporting cast ahead of next season. One of the prominent players who joined the roster last year certainly enjoyed his first up-close view of the Matthew Stafford Experience.

‘It’s been a dream,’ said wideout Davante Adams. ‘It’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this game, and one of the coolest teammates I have ever had. I know I use that term with him a lot, but truly, I don’t know if I’ve ever played with someone who’s a baller and such an easy guy to function with.’

Assuming he sticks around and doesn’t create wholesale dysfunction for a franchise that otherwise should remain a Super Bowl favorite next fall.

Basketball was played in Minneapolis on Sunday, Jan. 25, but the atmosphere surrounding Golden State’s 111-85 victory over Minnesota was unlike any game those in attendance ever experienced.

Originally scheduled to be nationally televised on Saturday, it was postponed for 24 hours after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti earlier that morning not far from the Timberwolves’ home arena.

‘I thought the vibe in the stands was one of the most bizarre, sad games I’ve ever been a part of,’ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said afterward. ‘Their team … We could tell they were struggling with everything that’s been going on and what the city has been through. It was very sad. It was a sad night.’

Before the game, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch fought through tears as he reflected on the city’s second deadly interaction between agents and residents this month.

‘As an organization, we are heartbroken for what we are having to witness and endure and watch,’ Finch said. ‘We just want to extend our thoughts, prayers and concern for Mr. Pretti, (his) family, all the loved ones and everyone involved in such an unconscionable situation in a community that we really love, full of people who are, by nature, peaceful and prideful. We just stand in support of our great community here.’

Both Finch and Kerr said they discussed the situation with their players and everyone agreed with the decision to postpone the game on Saturday.

Emotions were still raw throughout the community as thousands of sign-carrying protesters marched in freezing conditions outside Target Center before the game shouting ‘ICE out! ICE out!’

And inside, several members of the trampoline dunk team wore shirts that also said ‘ICE OUT’ in block capital letters.

‘I know there’s a lot of heavy hearts,’ said Warriors star guard Stephen Curry, who scored 26 points in the win and moved into 20th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

‘A lot of things – especially (for) this Minneapolis community (Saturday) – was rough. It’s been rough. … You can kind of feel it when we got here two days ago. The protests that were going on downtown, it was amazing to watch the turnout, and peaceful protests, the unified voice that was here. You feel like that would kind of turn the tide to a more positive direction, and then, you wake up in the morning, and you see what happened.’

AI-assisted summary
• The New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos 10-7 to win the AFC championship.
• Quarterback Drake Maye clinched the win with a crucial third-down run in the final minutes.
• Maye is now the third quarterback under the age of 24 to reach the Super Bowl.

DENVER – Mother Nature took care of the atmosphere with a swirl of flurries that stormed throughout the second half during the Jan. 25 AFC championship game, and the New England Patriots were about to put the game on ice. 

One more third down run, a punt, some good defense, and the Pats would be off to Super Bowl 60. 

But that’s not why Drake Maye is in the running – pun intended – for the NFL MVP award next month.

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called for a run on third-and-7. Maye faked the handoff instead and streaked the opposite direction, desperate to find the corner and first-down yardage. Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss pursued him from behind and appeared bound to catch up and stop him short of the marker.

Those 23-year-old legs moved too quickly, Maye converted the first down to set up “victory formation” in a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos, and he’s now the third QB under the age of 24 to make the Super Bowl, joining Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino. He also defeated three top-five defenses (in terms of yards allowed per game) en route to making the big game. 

To celebrate the game-clinching first down, he head-butted his buddy and blindside protector, left tackle Will Campbell, who stands at 6-foot-6, weighs 320 pounds and had the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. 

“That was probably the hardest head bump of my life,” Maye said after the game. 

Those defenses have also sacked him 15 times, five in each game. He has some bumps and bruises, he said, but so does everyone else on his team. 

“But hey,” he said, “that’s what it takes.” 

Now Maye and the Patriots have two weeks to heal before facing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, California.

“Props to this team, man,” Maye said. “Went after it tonight. We’re going to the Super Bowl, that sounds pretty good, that sounds pretty cool. Proud of this team, proud of the defense. We didn’t play our best ball in the first half, and in the second half came out and just battled the elements … it was a gritty win. Our defense stepped up. It was fun to watch.”

With passing game grounded, Maye’s athleticism took over

Maye finished 10-for-21 for 86 passing yards as the game turned into a whiteout in the second half thanks to snow and wind. He feasted against the Broncos on the ground, though, moving the chains by picking up first downs with his legs. His 6-yard touchdown tied the game in the first half. 

“That’s the great thing about Drake, the ability to extend plays, and if it’s not there, gain chunks,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “He’s done that most of the year. Again, we’ll have to get a lot of things corrected and we’ll have to play our best football game in two weeks if we want to finish as champions.”

No coach will necessarily use Maye’s three postseason performances as “teach tape,” but if playing winning football is all that matters at this stage in the season, then by all means, fire up the projector.

“I think we still haven’t played our best football yet in these playoffs,” Maye said. “I’m looking forward to seeing that and hopefully having that click and win the Super Bowl. That would be pretty cool.” 

Three of the Patriots’ longest plays against Denver were Maye scrambles. The other two were receptions by Mack Hollins, who returned for the first time in more than a month after suffering an ankle injury. The highlight was a flea-flicker to Hollins that went for 31 yards. 

Against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round, Maye ran for 67 yards and set a Patriots record for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback. 

“I mean, he is a tremendous athlete,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “It’s a threat, and to be that mobile and be able to run the way he does, see things and extend plays and all that is, is a big, big advantage for us. You know, he’s a tremendous player, tremendous competitor. For him to make a lot of plays with his legs today was big.”

Right tackle Morgan Moses, 34, said Maye keeps his teammates in the game – with his production – and level-headed – with his attitude in the huddle. 

“Man, we got a hell of a quarterback,” said Moses, who blocked for Lamar Jackson during Jackson’s second MVP season with the Baltimore Ravens. 

Mistake-free football breaks Maye’s sloppy playoff streak

Maye came under fire after the first two rounds of the postseason for his sloppy handling of the football. It was warranted criticism. He put the ball on the ground six times and was lucky to lose it only half the time. In this game, center Garrett Bradbury said, taking care of the football was the difference in the game – Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s fatal backward pass leading to Maye’s game-tying touchdown. 

Bradbury said the ball slipped out of his hands when he would crouch down to snap it. That Maye had no mistakes was impressive, he said.  

“We’ll ride with him any day of the week,” Bradbury said. 

Even if Maye changes the play and doesn’t tell his offensive line. 

“That’s got to be demoralizing for a defense,” Bradbury said.

In a way, Maye exacted his revenge on a franchise responsible for some childhood trauma. A North Carolina guy who bleeds Tar-Heel blue, Maye attended Super Bowl 50 as a boy. Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers team lost to the Broncos in a defensive-minded affair. 

‘It’s full circle,” Maye said. “My dad, when I was maybe in seventh grade, said if the Panthers made it we were going to go. It was heartbreaking.” 

Ten years and one AFC championship trophy later, Maye was the one breaking Broncos fans’ hearts. 

For some of the U.S. men’s national team’s top attacking talents, 2026 hasn’t been kind so far.

Three high-profile USMNT players in particular have suffered through injury and uneven performances to kick off the biggest year of their national team careers.

But there were still some silver linings this weekend, from a forward in England continuing to shine to an unlikely player being dubbed ‘the perfect striker’ by his coach.

Let’s get to the Five.

Christian Pulisic hits the skids

The new year has not been a happy one for Christian Pulisic so far.

After he was the unquestioned star of AC Milan’s attack for the first half of the season, Pulisic is still without a goal or assist in six total games this year.

The American was a non-factor after coming on in the 69th minute of Milan’s 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, Jan. 25. The Rossoneri were clearly content to keep hold of a point on the road, limiting Pulisic’s attacking opportunities.

Part of Pulisic’s struggles can be blamed on the lingering effects of a hamstring injury from the fall. Milan coach Max Allegri admitted earlier this month that the 27-year-old was not fully fit. Pulisic has started just three of his side’s six games in January, including one match in which he didn’t play at all.

Pulisic is still his team’s leading scorer this season with 10 goals in all competitions. With Milan now five points back of first-place Inter, Allegri will need Pulisic fully up and running to ensure the Rossoneri stay within striking distance of their city rival.

Another setback for Gio Reyna

In what’s become a depressingly common story in recent years, Gio Reyna has suffered another injury setback.

Reyna missed Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 3-0 defeat to Stuttgart on Sunday due to ‘muscular problems,’ the club said.

There was no indication of how serious the injury is, but any spell on the sidelines is a blow for a player who still hasn’t justified Gladbach’s move to bring him over from Borussia Dortmund in the offseason.

In 14 appearances for Gladbach this season, including five starts, Reyna has yet to tally a goal or assist.

Malik Tillman in a rut

Malik Tillman has hit a midseason skid during his first campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.

Tillman has not scored or assisted a goal since Nov. 22, a drought of 11 games in all competitions.

The 23-year-old has maintained his starting role throughout most of that dry spell, but Tillman started both of Leverkusen’s games last week from the bench.

Tillman is still providing value in possession and with his work-rate, but Leverkusen paid a club-record €35 million transfer fee for goal production.

With three goals and no assists all season, Tillman is falling well short of expectations.

Big Pat finds the net again

Patrick Agyemang continues to thrive with Derby County.

The striker found the net for the second time in three games on Friday, Jan. 23, opening the scoring in a 1-1 draw with West Brom.

Ageymang’s goal was of the opportunistic variety, as he took advantage of a mistake from goalkeeper Max O’Leary to bundle home.

The USMNT striker continues to make his case for a World Cup roster spot. He’s now scored eight goals in his debut season with Derby, and has even been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent weeks.

Weston McKennie ‘the perfect striker’

Juventus is in the market for a new forward, but head coach Luciano Spalletti seems happy with his unlikely makeshift options for now.

Weston McKennie once again played a vital role for Juve in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Napoli. The American played high up the pitch for much of the match, particularly after Jonathan David was removed with 15 minutes left.

With five goals on the season, McKennie is just one shy of his career high. The 27-year-old has scored in three consecutive Champions League matches.

After the Napoli match, Spalletti was full of praise for the versatile USMNT star.

‘McKennie is a perfect central striker,’ Spalletti said. ‘He fights, he’s strong in the air and he can jump high. He plays to get results because he makes decisions. He would be a perfect striker.’

DENVER – Could’ve. Would’ve. Should’ve.

Sean Payton could sure use those three points about now. The Denver Broncos lost a three-point game with a trip to Super Bowl 60 on the line, and for all the twists and turns at Empower Field on Jan. 25, there’s no escaping the bold decision by Payton that backfired.

Rather than go for a chip-shot field goal that could have extended the Broncos lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter against the New England Patriots, Payton decided to go for the Mile High jugular when facing a fourth-and-one at the 14-yard line.

Oops.

The naked bootleg pass from Jarrett Stidham to R.J. Harvey in the right flat came much closer to being intercepted than completed as the Patriots blew up the play with a heavy rush up the middle.

“I just felt like, man, we had momentum,” Payton explained in his postgame news conference. “To go up 14, I felt like we had a good call.”

Well, given the hindsight provided by a 10-7 loss in the AFC championship game, turns out it was a terrible call.

“We thought they were going to fake it, line up and not hike it,” Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore told USA TODAY Sports, amid a festive visitor’s locker room. “But they didn’t. They were really going for it.

“When they did that, they made a mistake.”

The moral of the story: Take the points.

Added Barmore, “That’s their call, man. We can’t control that. But when we’re out there, we’re doing what we’ve got to do.”

Hey, the play undoubtedly looked good enough to Payton on paper. And they were serious about running it, rather than using cadence to try baiting New England into a penalty. In this day and age, it’s hardly a shock when coaches pass up potential points and go for it on fourth down in the red zone. So there’s that. Besides, the Broncos defense started on such a tear that the Patriots mustered all of 12 net yards in the first quarter.

All of that was included in Payton’s decision-making process. But the risk, it turns out, was greater than the potential reward.

Momentum?

Yeah, Payton’s team had it – even with Stidham, the backup quarterback filling in for the injured Bo Nix – and then squandered it.

Broncos’ fourth-down failure changed game’s course

The fourth-down call handed the momentum over to Mike Vrabel’s team on a silver platter. Payton, who has 194 NFL victories on his resume, should have known better. Going up 14-zip would have been sweet. But coming away with nothing changed the course of the game.

And this was before Mother Nature came blowing through in the second half with a wintry mix that changed the game’s complexion. Before the Broncos had another play blown up that resulted in the turnover by Stidham that allowed the Patriots to score a quick, game-tying touchdown just before halftime.

Sure, there were things that were unforeseen. But with the high stakes of a Super Bowl in play, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes, being aggressive is a bit much. Old-school philosophy would have worked. Just take the points. Especially when you’re already needing to reduce pressure on the backup quarterback.

“There will always be second thoughts,” Payton said.

Payton doesn’t even need to see the film to realize the Broncos offense (which lost starting running back J.K. Dobbins to a foot injury in midseason) didn’t run the ball well enough. They averaged just 3.3 yards per carry and didn’t have a run longer than nine yards, while the Patriots ran 38 times for 141 yards. There were too many dropped passes – poor conditions or not – that continued a pattern evident all season.

Yet the coach sounded like he will start by looking in the mirror.

“I’m going to look at it and be critical of myself,” he said.

Yes, the buck stops with Payton.

“It starts with the head coach,” he said. “You don’t know it is going to be this three-point game, but it became apparent that with each possession, a field goal, that type of thing, was going to be real important. We weren’t able to get it done. That’s tough in this game. Especially in this game.”

Payton, who has rebuilt the Broncos in three years, was in striking range of becoming the first coach to ever win Super Bowls with two different franchises. Now he’s a coach who has twice suffered heartbreaking defeats in conference championships after earning the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. He will probably always wonder how this one got away.

After that fateful fourth-down decision, the Broncos had eight more possessions and never advanced back to the red zone. They had two drives end with missed field goals, and two drives that went three-and-out. They had the two Stidham turnovers.

And they now have some hard-knock lessons to take into a long offseason.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

Sunday’s AFC and NFC championship games put the full spectrum of football performances on display.

With a berth in Super Bowl 60 on the line, the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos made clear early that they would be engaged in a defensive battle. The first half was marked by sloppy offensive play on both sides and an inability for either team to finds its stride. And with the wind and snow wreaking havoc after halftime, the Patriots secured a 10-7 win by minimizing their mistakes.

Shortly after, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks put on a show with their respective passing attacks. But it was the Seahawks who prevailed to score a 31-27 victory.

Now, the two are set to square off in Super Bowl 60 on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from Sunday:

Winners

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

When he fell off pace for the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiving season, Smith-Njigba seemed to fade out of the national spotlight a bit. His explosive night against the Rams, however, reinforced his singular standing among the current crop of pass catchers. The Seahawks wide receiver racked up 153 yards on 10 catches, with 115 yards coming before halftime. His proper due is likely ahead, as he’s the overwhelming favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. But a star turn in the Super Bowl might earn him recognition for an all-time season by a receiver.

Sam Darnold

For all the command Darnold displayed this season in Seattle, it was hard to shake the sense that his turnover streak or discomfort facing interior pressure could flare up in a key spot. On Sunday, the Seahawks quarterback sidelined that perception of himself by maintaining his poise throughout a 346-yard, three-touchdown performance. Sure, he leaned on Smith-Njigba plenty, as any shrewd passer would do with a target capable of repeatedly breaking free. But Darnold showed plenty of discernment and also tossed scoring strikes to Jake Bobo and Cooper Kupp. Doubt has trailed Darnold ever since he was traded by the New York Jets. If he’s able to secure a Super Bowl title, however, he can make the most substantial revision to his career narrative to date.

Nick Emmanwori

The notion of a ‘do-everything’ defender typically is merely the product of NFL draft hyperbole. In Emmanwori’s case, however, the label certainly felt as though it applied as he made his mark from the nickel position. Seattle’s 6-3, 220-pound rookie quickly established himself as a disruptive force by allying three passes defensed and holding firm against the run. The second-round pick from South Carolina has made tremendous strides in his development, to the point that he could have been the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year front-runner if the award simply measured the peak impact of each contender at the end of the season.

Rams’ passing attack

What a final showing from likely MVP Matthew Stafford and his supporting cast. After some unsettled footwork out of the gates, the Rams quarterback attacked the Seahawks’ stacked defense in a manner no one else had this season, burning the unit with repeated downfield vertical shots for 374 yards and three touchdowns. Puka Nacua (165 yards) and Davante Adams (89 yards) each proved to be too much for the Seahawks’ secondary to handle. It’s surely not an end point that will satisfy Stafford, but for a player who began last offseason with contract drama and ended it with questions about his balky back, this campaign was nothing short of outstanding.

Mike Vrabel

It’s fair to point out all the ways in which things have broken the Patriots’ way this season, from a favorable schedule to getting to take on a backup quarterback in a storm in the AFC title game. But a Patriots team that looked to be in the wilderness just a year ago is headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018, and Vrabel affirmed his place as the driving force behind that resurgence. This was a game that called for all of Vrabel’s situational football acumen, and his team overcame being thoroughly outplayed in the first half to squeeze out the top-seeded Broncos. Mistake-free football was needed to prevail, and the Patriots largely delivered.

Drake Maye’s running

Nearly nothing was accessible through the air for the second-year signal-caller, whose 41 yards at the half represented a season-low. Still, Maye’s scrambling ability ignited the sole spark for New England’s offense. In all, he notched 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He was also responsible for the Patriots’ longest gain of the day when he ripped off a 28-yard gain in the third quarter. His bootleg to secure a first down in the final minutes put the frigid affair on ice.

Broncos defense

Before the weather did the job for Denver, its vaunted defense essentially locked down New England. If not for the turnover that put the game on its head, the stellar outing – which included just 206 yards and 12 first downs allowed – likely would have been sufficient to secure a win. A pass rush that dialed way back on the blitz kept Maye out of sorts, while a back end employing a much heavier proportion of zone coverage kept the clamps on the receiving corps. This was exactly the sort of game that should have gone Denver’s way given this unit’s ability to dictate terms. Instead, a handful of offensive miscues made all the difference.

Patriots defensive front

Maye and Denver’s defense rightfully earned the acclaim, but the continued ascent of New England’s less-heralded unit made the biggest difference on Sunday. Unlike their counterparts, the Patriots have had trouble generating pressure in straightforward scenarios off the edge, necessitating a number of blitzes and varied looks from play-caller Zak Kuhr. But New England set the tone up front with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, among others. Their disruptiveness in the passing game helped prevent Stidham from settling in, while they also kept Denver one-dimensional by stuffing the run.

Losers

Xavier Smith

It’s not fair for one figure to bear the brunt of the blame for the Rams’ pervasive special teams missteps. Yet after his third-quarter muffed punt return broke the game open for the Seahawks, Smith becomes the encapsulation of Los Angeles’ Achilles heel. With Seattle scoring one play after the turnover to extend its 11-point lead, a back-and-forth contest suddenly saw the Rams operating from a significant hole. It didn’ completely sink the team, which was unable to capitalize on plenty of other opportunities in the second half. But no play will loom larger for Los Angeles as the organization reflects on what went wrong over both the short and long term.

Riq Woolen

Since reeling in six interceptions and a Pro Bowl berth as a rookie, Woolen has been a largely confounding presence in the Seahawks’ secondary, with wild variation between what he offers in coverage on a down-to-down basis. His volatility once again surfaced Sunday, when he taunted the Rams’ sideline after forcing a fourth-and-12 while up two scores and subsequently earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. On the next play, Nacua dusted him on a double move for a 34-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 4 points. His immaturity was clearly a source of frustration for his teammates, as he and Emmanwori engaged in a sideline argument after the sequence. Set to be a free agent next year, Woolen figures to be a high-risk, high-reward pickup for some team. In the short term, however, he’ll have to show he can be a trusted presence against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, however, seemed prepared to move on, saying, ‘(W)e have to pick him up.’

Rams’ secondary

Los Angeles’ refusal to invest big in the secondary can no longer be overlooked. The Rams’ defensive backs couldn’t counter Smith-Njigba and Darnold, ceding 321 yards through the air on the night. And when the unit had the chance to get the offense off the field, it couldn’t finish the job, allowing a 7-of-13 conversion rate on third down. Taking a cornerback with one of two first-round picks has to be a strong consideration for a franchise that hasn’t spent that heavily at the position in the draft since taking Tye Hill No. 15 overall in 2006.

Jarrett Stidham

Stepping in for Bo Nix was an almost impossible ask for a player who hadn’t thrown a regular-season pass since 2023. Still, when Stidham fired a 52-yard deep shot to Marvin Mims Jr. in the first quarter and then capitalized with a touchdown toss to Courtland Sutton, it seemed as though there might be a bit of magic in the air. That quickly dissipated – or was blown away by the wind – as Stidham floundered in the face of the rush, throwing incompletions on all six of his first-half attempts under pressure. But the real unraveling came when he threw a backward pass that resulted in a fumble deep in Denver’s territory. In positioning New England for its lone touchdown of the day to tie the game before halftime, Stidham and the Broncos neutralized an early advantage that would have grown in importance if the team had been able to hang onto it. When he lofted an interception to Christian Gonzalez, it essentially ended any shot of a comeback. In a game defined by a razor-thin margin of error, Stidham ultimately was too jittery to steer the Broncos to the Super Bowl.

Sean Payton

Four years to the day after he resigned from the New Orleans Saints, Payton could have put himself on the precipice of becoming the first head coach to win Super Bowls with two different franchises. Instead, he’ll face several questions about his game management in a close loss. Some calculated aggressiveness was required in forging ahead with Stidham, who probably needed to generate a few splash plays to compensate for the inevitable lapses. But the weather essentially shut down any possibility of Denver following that path. Meanwhile, Payton’s fourth-down gamble surely will loom over the offseason. Misfortune ultimately might be the primary culprit for Denver’s demise. Still, it’s clear that Payton didn’t confer the advantage that he typically does.

Drake Maye’s passing

Some credit is due, as Maye managed not to turn the ball over after fumbling four times last week and throwing an interception in each of his first two playoff appearances. But in his first road postseason contest, the MVP finalist continued to be dogged by an inability to get the ball out quickly and neutralize the rush. Maye, who ranked fourth this season in sacks taken with 47, took five more on Sunday, putting him at 15 total for the playoffs. Whether in the Super Bowl or in the offseason, sack avoidance is sure to be a focus for Maye moving forward.

Broncos run game

For the second consecutive week, Denver couldn’t get anything going on the ground, netting just 79 yards on 24 carries. And a decent chunk of that production – 23 yards – came from Stidham’s scrambles. The net effect was a heightened degree of difficulty for an offense that came to count on its backup quarterback to deliver big plays in challenging conditions.

Will Campbell

Another rough outing for the Patriots’ rookie left tackle, who seemed to be thoroughly outmatched against Denver’s edge rushers in pass protection and committed a false start penalty. To be fair, almost any blindside protector would be in survival mode in a two-game span that brings matchups with Will Anderson Jr. and Nik Bonito. After his error-riddled performance last week, Campbell said he has had some of his most regrettable plays this year when he has been afforded help in his assignments. But Sunday made it clear that New England can’t count on him to go it alone.

Wil Lutz and Andy Borregales

Denver famously has provided favorable conditions for kickers over the years due to the Mile High altitude. But the punishing wind and snow rendered field goals a near impossibility as the game wore on, with Lutz and Borregales combining for a 1-of-4 mark, with the lone conversion coming from the later on a 23-yard chip shot. But neither kicker can be faulted for coming up short – or wide – given the conditions.